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Nov. 25, 2013
Daily summary - Monday, November 25, 2013
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Main News
ISRAELI COURT TODAY TO LOOK INTO DECISION TO CONFISCATE 178 DUNAMS OF LAND FROM NABI SAMUEL; APPROVAL OF CONSTRUCITON OF 800 HOUSING UNITS IN THE WEST BANK
This morning, the Israeli military court in Bet El will look into the decision to confiscate 178 dunams of land from the village of Nabi Samuel northwest of Jerusalem with the purpose of expanding the Jewish archeological garden there and turning it into a tourist site. A defense activist for Nabi Samuel lands, Eid Barakat said that if the confiscation goes through, the people of the village will be subject to tremendous hardships given that the archeological park would be directly adjacent to their homes. He said the Israeli plan was to turn it into a tourist site complete with public facilities and individual parks. Barakat said dozens of residents of the village will attend the court session today along with representatives of national forces. He also called on PA officials to stand by the villagers and work to cancel the decision. Barakat said that around 30 people had left the village in the past six months because of Israeli measures, saying he feared a rise in this number if the Israeli plan is implemented. The majority of the population in Nabi Samuel is 220 people, most of who carry West Bank IDs and are prohibited from entering Jerusalem without a permit. The village is already surrounded by a separation wall and has severely restricted the people there. Most of the land of the village has also been confiscated for the sake of the Ramot Alon settlement and the archeological park. (Al Quds)
In related news, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz, the Israeli civil administration recently approved the construction of 800 housing units in several settlements and “random” outposts in the West Bank. Around one-third of these units will be built in the Nofe Barat settlement, which used to be considered “random” in the past but which is now considered by the civil administration as a suburb of Maaleh Adumim.
Approval was also given to continuing the plan to build 94 housing units in the random outpost of Saleet in the Jordan Valley, legitimizing it. And in Shilo, south of Nablus, which falls outside of the settlement blocs, a plan was approved for the construction of 30 housing units, most of which were legalized retroactively for housing which were not given licenses before. (http://maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=650701)
EREKAT: WHY CAN’T THE PROTOTYPE OF THE GENEVA AGREEMENT BE APPLIED TO THE PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI CONFLICT?
PLO Executive Committee member Saeb Erekat said yesterday to Al Ayyam that the negotiations led by international powers with Iran and which resulted in an agreement on the Iranian nuclear file is “completely unique and constitutes a precedent and a launching point” which could be followed in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He said it showed the success of the international community in avoiding war and adopting peaceful means of solving disputes. “We welcome the Geneva agreement, because war does not serve anyone’s interest,” he said. “We hope the international community, which was able to achieve this, will put the same effort into ending the Israeli occupation and achieving the establishment of a Palestinian state so that there is peace and stability in the entire region.” He added that if the international community had the will, it could do it. He went on to ask why the international community continues to treat Israel as if it were above the law. “There is nothing more dangerous than occupation to regional and international peace and stability,” he said.
On his part, presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rdeineh said that the Palestinians also wanted a nuclear weapons–free Middle East, saying the Geneva agreement was an important message to Israel to realize that peace was the only choice in this region (Al Ayyam)
THE LEADERSHIP DISCLAIMS ANY PALESITNIAN INVOLVEMENT IN THE BEIRUT BOMBINGS
The Palestinian leadership reaffirmed once again last night, its condemnation of the terrorist attack that targeted the Iranian embassy in Beirut, saying it stood by Lebanon, its president, government and people, in their confrontation with criminal groups, denying any affiliation to them at the religious, national or humanitarian levels. The leadership said in a statement that “Palestinian participation in this criminal and cowardly act is an individual act that does not serve anyone but the enemies to our cause and to our nation.” The leadership renewed its condolences to the families of the victims, saying it stood on the front line of fighting the war on terrorists and religious fanatics who offend our religion. (Al Ayyam)
HAMAS GOVERNMENT: WE HAVE FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES, BUT WE CAN OVERCOME IT
Deputy prime minister in the Hamas government in Gaza Ziad Thatha said yesterday that his government was experiencing financial difficulties and was trying its best to overcome it as soon as possible. Thatha said that the government was not in a ‘crisis’ but had financial ‘difficulties’’ saying they were not trying to delay salaries, however, “the reality in which we live imposes itself” Thatha pinned most of the government’s financial problems on the siege imposed on the Strip and said he hoped Hamas’ government could come to “positive outcomes” soon on the issue of electricity although he said he had no information on this until now. He also called on the Egyptians to open the Rafah crossing so they would not be accused of involvement in the siege
In this regard, Hamas leader Ahmad Yousef said that his government was in contact with Egypt through its intelligence services to find a solution to the Rafah crossing and to ‘clear up some issues about the Sinai events.” Yousef said they were trying to maintain the relationship between the two sides so that things would not escalate between Gaza and Cairo. (Al Quds)
ISRAELI TELEVISION RUNS REPORT SHOWING THE AQSA MOSQUE BEING TURNED INTO A MUSEUM
Israeli TV ran a reportage yesterday showing Israeli forces inaugurating a museum beneath the Aqsa Mosque, through the diggings and excavations that reached the uncovering of Islamic museums and the history of civilizations for thousands of years, making it a tourist spot. Israel is trying attribute all of the history of the Middle East and of Jerusalem to its existence and to the Jewish temple it says is there. All of this is being turned into an underground museum. The reportage showed pictures of houses on which millions of shekels were spent to renovate and prepare as part of the museum and to take the place of hotels for tourists and which overlooks the Aqsa. According to a Kuwaiti newspaper, minister of foreign affairs Riyad Al Malki warned that if the Muslims did not rise up to save the Aqsa, there would be no Aqsa left for them in six months’ time. (Al Quds)
THE PRESIDENT TO NORWEGIAN FM: CONTINUATION OF SETTLEMETNS DESTROYS PEACE PROCESS
President Mahmoud Abbas received at his headquarters in Ramallah yesterday the Norwegian foreign minister B?rge Brende and briefed him on the latest developments in the peace process. Abbas reaffirmed the Palestinians’ commitment to reaching a comprehensive and just peace through negotiations within the agreed on timeframe of nine months in order to establish a Palestinian state along the ’67 borders with Jerusalem as its capital. Abbas told Brende that Israel’s continuation of settlement construction on Palestinian land, especially in occupied Jerusalem, is destroying chances for reaching a real and permanent peace. He commended Norway’s positions towards the Palestinian people and its financial and political support. Brende also reaffirmed his country’s support for the peace process and the two state solution, saying Norway would continue to offer support to the Palestinian people. (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
HAMDALLAH DISCUSSES STRENGTHENING BILATERAL TIES WITH HIS JORDANIAN COUNTERPART
Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah discussed with is Jordanian counterpart Abdullah Nsour, ways of strengthening bilateral ties and joint cooperation on a number of political and economic issues pertaining to both the Jordanian and Palestinian peoples. Hamdallah discussed issues pertaining to international efforts to open the Red Sea-Dead Sea channel, saying the Palestinians fully supported the Jordanian vision on this matter. They also discussed Palestinian-Jordanian ties in regards to the Palestinian cause and Jordan’s important role in Al Aqsa. Hamdallah will head to Doha, Qatar today to meet with PM Abdallah bin Nasser before heading to Lebanon on Thursday. (Al Ayyam)
ISRAELI MILITARY EXERCISES SIMULATE A GROUND WAR AND NAVAL TROOPS IN GAZA
Israel radio said yesterday that the Israeli southern army command launched drills and military exercises in Ashdod and Ashkelon that simulate scenarios for a new ground war in the Gaza Strip. The radio said that alongside marine troops, Israeli naval troops are also part of the drills to face a possible confrontation at sea or if the army is forced to drop naval troops on Gaza’s beaches in the case of a military confrontation. A senior official in the Israeli military said the drills were focused on fighting in populated areas and on designing plans and implementing them in the field. (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
NEGEV: INJURIES AND ARRESTES DURING PROTESTS AGAINST THE PRAWER PLAN
Yesterday morning, confrontations took place between Israeli police and protesters against the visit of the Knesset’s interior ministry to Arab villages in the Negev Desert. Four protesters were injured in Rahat and two were arrested during the protests. Islamic movement representative Talab Abu Arar accused the police of terrorizing the protesters, strongly condemning the attack on them. The protesters were demonstrating against the Prawer plan, which would displace 40,000 Bedouin residents of the Negev from their homes. (Al Ayyam)
JERUSALEM: ISRAELI AUTHORITIES ANNOUNCE THE ARREST OF MEMBERS OF A CELL ACCUSED OF THROWING FIREBOMBS
The Israeli police allowed publication about the arrest of a cell of boys between 15 and 17 years of age from Essawiyeh in East Jerusalem, accused of throwing stones and firebombs at Israeli cars and sites. According to the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahranoth, the arrests were carried out in the past few days, saying 10 boys were arrested. The website said the boys, who are distributed among two groups, confessed to their charges during interrogation, adding that they all belonged to the DFLP (Al Ayyam)
TWO CHILDREN, ONE YOUTH ARRESTED IN BETHLEHEM
This morning, Israeli occupation authorities raided the town of Obeidiyeh east of Bethlehem, arresting two children after storming their parents’ homes. Another young man was arrested in Khader, south of the district. According to local correspondents, Israeli troops arrested Yousef Hassaneh, 16 and Hussam Hassasneh, 14 and took them to an unknown location. In the town of Khader, Rabee’ Atwan, 19 was arrested. (http://qudsnet.com/news/View/258449/اعتقال-طفلين-وشاب-من-بيت-لحم/)
NEW DEPORTATION OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS FROM AL AQSA FOR 15 DAYS
Israeli occupation authorities deported three students and two teachers from the religion program at the Aqsa Mosque yesterday for 15 days. They were stopped by Israeli police at the gates to the compound and taken to the police station in the Old City without any explanation. In related news, the Knesset will convene today to discuss special arrangements for the entry of Jews into the Aqsa compound on the occasion of Hanukkah (Al Ayyam)
LIEBERMAN THREATENS TO OCCUPY THE GAZA STRIP
Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman said yesterday that Israel should re-occupy the Gaza Strip if Palestinian factions continue to fire rockets at nearby settlements. In a speech he gave in front of Israel Beytenu to discuss the situation, including their coalition with Likud, Lieberman said he “would not support any future military operation into the Gaza Strip if its goal was not to occupy it.” He added that “we do not want to control Gaza but we want to clean it out from the military strength built by the organizations there.” (http://safa.ps/details/news/116796/ليبرمان-يهدد-باحتلال-قطاع-غزة.html)
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Headlines
*Iranian nuclear agreement: the world welcomes it while Israel condemns it (Al Ayyam)
*Teachers’ strike suspended to give chance for dialogue (Al Ayyam)
*Deposed government spokesperson: Mursi made a mistake in appointing Sisi as defense minister (Al Ayyam)
*Rights report: hundreds of European missionaries fight in the ranks of the Israeli army (Al Ayyam)
*Israel denounces Iranian nuclear deal, says it is not bound by it (Al Quds)
*Child dies after being run over in town of Kobar (Al Quds)
*Herzog wagers on Labor joining Netanyahu’s government with progress in the peace process (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Abu Rdeineh: Geneva agreement is a letter to Israel (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Transportation ministry to form team to review demands of transportation union (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*CEO’s of imported cars: we are within the law, but who will protect us from losses? (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
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Front Page Photos
Al- Quds:1) Tehran : Iranian woman reads the “Iran” daily newspaper, whose main headline was the “historical Geneva agreement
Al-Ayyam:1) Geneva: French FM, Russian FM, US Secretary of State, Chinese FM and Iranian FM during the declaration of the Iranian nuclear agreement; 2) The President, during his meeting with the Norwegian foreign minister; 3) Israeli police arrest a citizen during protests in Rahat in the Negev
Al Hayat Al Jadida:1) Newborns Sundus and Noor, born to prisoner Ahmad Mughrabi who was able to smuggle his sperm out of prison to his wife for insemination; 2) The President, during his meeting with the Norwegian foreign minister; 3) Hamdallah and Nusur during their meeting in Amman
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Voice of Palestine News
Jerusalem: let me start the occupation closing main entrances in Al-Ezareyah, south of Jerusalem, these entrances are used by thousands of vehicles traveling from south to north of the west bank on a daily bases. In this regards, in an hour from now, a demonstration will take place at the main entrance of Ma’le Adomim settlement protesting these measures, and they close the settlement entrance. We note here that these measures were taken to facilitate movement of settlers from Kidar settlement, so we anticipant for serious developments in this area if the citizens managed to close the entrance.
With regards to Al-Aqsa, Yehuda Glick stormed Al-Aqsa courtyards in the early hours of yesterday morning, with a group of 20 extremists, this storming lead to confrontations with the occupation forces leading to the arrest of 7 citizens, two female teachers and students. The citizens were taken to Al-Keshlah police headquarters and after hours of investigations, the two teachers were expelled Al-Aqsa, in addition to expelling another 4 youth.
Regarding other developments, Isaweyeh and Al-Tur witnessed confrontations yesterday night after being stormed by the occupation forces, while the police spokeswoman claimed that two group of youth (15-16 years old) were arrested and accused of throwing stones. Occupation forces used tear gas during confrontations with citizens in Al-Tur.
Gaza:
Q: News says that good were brought into the Gaza Strip through Karm Abu Salem crossing, is that true?
Yes, at around 7 today the crossing was reopened and allowed 220 truck of goods and aid for commercial and agriculture use, I addition to entering limited quantity of gas.
With regards to the electricity crisis, this crisis in getting worse each day, due to the shortage of electricity for 18 hours a day in some areas, citizens suffer very much and are receiving any clear answers form officials in the Gaza Strip, this crisis is being reflected on the different aspects of life, especially with regards to humanitarian issue. The Gaza municipality announced yesterday that all trucks transferring solid waste will stop operating; this will create a very negative and dangerous situation in the strip especially with regards to the health situation.
Inside the green line:
Q: Can you tell us more about the confrontations between citizens and the occupation police in the Negev yesterday?
The interior committee o the Knesset held a tour at some villages in the Negev, aiming at presenting “Arab control of lands in the Negev” to this committee. This tour was confronted by a demonstration in Rahat as part of a general strike, confrontations occurred between youth and Israeli police, leading to the arrest of three youth in addition to some who were injured. What happened yesterday was a clear message to the ministers, we know that there are some voices calling for withdraw form the plan and holding more visits and meet with Arab citizens and find better solution. This new discourse led citizens to approach a real dialogue with the committee in order to reach a proper solution recognizing these villages.
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Voice of Palestine Interviews
** Ahmad Rowedy, Presidential Advisor for Jerusalem affairs, on Israeli escalation and Knesset discussing a law allowing settlers’ entry to Al-Aqsa.
Q: Planned escalation in Jerusalem, at the same time the Knesset discusses a law allowing settlers and occupation forces entry to Al-Aqsa courtyards, what is the danger in this?
Israel wants to provide a legal cover to its break inns into Al-Aqsa, as the issue is fully legal, through suggesting laws, discussing these laws in the Knesset as happened one week ago, when they discussed in the interior committee such a law, this confirms that they are planning for something against Al-Aqsa, and we can see it very clear now, they are trying to legalize their actions and violations against Al-Aqsa, in addition to devising this holy site. Lately even Israeli Supreme Court is allowing settlers to enter Al-Aqsa, while it used to prevent this in the past. They are every clear when they talk now about temporal and special division of the mosque, they are talking about fifth of its space to establish a Jewish synagogue, these storming act also reaches the roofs in the old city not only Al-Aqsa. I say this is a real battle against Al-Aqsa mosque and Israel wants to take advantage of the Arab situation to set facts on the ground.
Q: With regards to the week Arab and Muslim reactions, did you call for holding a summit for Jerusalem?
Before I answer that, I would say that the Palestinian reaction is also week, we don’t hear anything about Jerusalem in other Palestinian districts, Jerusalemites are left alone, yesterday, and two female teachers were arrested for confronting settlers and occupation forces in Al-Aqsa and were expelled from Al-Aqsa for 15 days. Let me say it clear, did you hear anything against this from other Palestinian districts? Anyway, the political leadership is doing all it can to reach Arab and Muslim action, especially with the Jordan to follow up on the events, in addition to following up with the Jordanian embassy, we called on the Arab League to hold an urgent summit but without any response yet, I think that the only ones who are standing against the Israeli project in al-Aqsa are our people, Israeli tried in attack Al-Aqsa during the Sharon period and it fail to do so, Israel knows very well that any change in trying to harm Al-Aqsa will have very difficult results. They know how holy this site is for Muslims.
Q: What is needed to activate popular action to support Al-Aqsa?
We say that Jerusalemites and their organizations should be supported in order for Al-Aqsa to be supported, renovation of houses, Jerusalemites needs to be addressed, and there is a lot that can be done to support Jerusalem in the popular and official levels. We need to understand that the battle now is for every and each stone in Jerusalem, they try to steel everything in Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa and its surrounding. I think that the rest of the Palestinian districts can do a lot in supporting Jerusalemites and their steadfastness in order to protect Al-Aqsa.
** Kadoura Faris, President of the Prisoners’’ Club, on isolating 4 prisoners from section 25 in the Negev prison.
Q: What is the situation now in section 25?
The situation was very tense yesterday due to the administration’s measures, they decided to isolate the general representative of the prisoners with another 3 prisoners, creating a very tense situation, and we still dot know what is the situation now, we only know that these prisoners are part of the prisoners who will start a hunger strike. We knew that if the prisoners will not be returned to the section the whole prisoner will join the strike.
Q: they are still isolated until now?
We still don’t know, we don’t have any further information if they reached an agreement and were returned to the section.
Q: the hunger strike starts today?
Yes it did as decided in the prisoners’ plan, after not appearing before military courts.
Q: will you send a lawyer you the Negev prison?
This needs previous arrangements, but we are following up on the issue
** Talal Qarnawi, Mayor of Rahat, on events in the Negev yesterday.
Q: The Negev issue is being raised gain as a result of an attempt by the occupation to expel citizens form their lands, as our correspondent said, now there is dialogue between you and the interior committee, what will you demand in this meeting?
First of all we are against the ‘Prawer’ plan since it aims and expelling Bedouin citizens form their lands and villages, what the committee did yesterday was unacceptable, entering our villages and lands without any previous coordination, this committee did not coordinate with me as the mayor of the largest city in the south, this is unacceptable. The plan to transfer citizens to Rahat will not be accepted at all. We want to have a dialogue but without using any force.
Q: They say that you illegally control this land?
These are our lands before the creation of Israel, if they want to have dialogue we are ready, we are not against the law, but we will not allow stealing our land, Israel establishes new Jewish villages each year, why they don’t establish Arab villages for us?
Q: Can you tell us more about the popular action against this plan?
There is a follow up committee, we are all united against this plan, and there is a national decision for all Arab citizens to stand up against this plan in all possible ways.
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More Headlines
A report issued by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights network revealed that there are hundreds of European mercenaries ‘volunteering” for military service in the ranks of the Israeli army and as part of special forces that participate in battles with Palestinian civilians, especially in the Gaza Strip. According to the report, organizations that are directly linked to Jewish and right-wing Christian groups in Europe organize campaigns across Europe to invite Europeans to enlist in the Israeli army and serve in the Palestinian territories. The campaigns also call on them to support settler operations against Palestinians in the West Bank. One such organization is called Mahal and is based in London; according to the report it has recruited thousands of volunteers from around 40 countries mostly European. The report also said the organizations recruit youth no younger than 21 for women and 24 for men. One recruit from the Ukraine said she served with the Israeli army and killed Palestinian children, showing no remorse, saying they were ‘terrorists.” Estimates show that around 200 volunteers from Holland join the army as mercenaries (Al Ayyam)
Settlers break into the Aqsa Mosque, arrest four women
A number of settlers and Israeli intelligence officers broke into the Aqsa Mosque compound this morning and arrested four Muslim women as they entered the mosque. According to an Aqsa guard, forces at the gates had a list of names of religious students and worshippers and were checking the ideas of each person who entered the grounds. The guard said Israeli police arrested four worshippers as they entered the Mosque including Raeda Khalfawi. The women are being held at the police station at Lion’s Gate. He said10 settlers and two intelligence officers broke into the grounds from the Moroccan gate. (http://safa.ps/details/news/116814/مستوطنون-يقتحمون-الأقصى-واعتقال-4-مرابطات.html)
Israeli occupation authorities take over dozens of dunams of land in Tulkarm
Israeli occupation forces announced this morning that they would take over 78 dunams of land in the village of Kufr Jamal south of Tulkarm. The villagers were taken by surprise this morning when they found the orders, thrown near the gates in the separation wall that surrounds the village. The villagers said the takeover of these lands would mean a rerouting of the separation wall, built on the lands of the residents, eastward. In turn, this would isolate hundreds of dunams of cultivated land, planted with hundreds of olive and citrus trees and thyme. (http://www.alquds.com/news/article/view/id/474825)
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Arab Press
Beirut bombs are more than spillover
By Rami G. Khouri
The two suicide attacks against the Iranian Embassy in Beirut last week represent something far more dangerous than simply more spillover from the war in Syria. It would be analytically much more useful to see this development in the context of three older phenomena that have now come together to bring us to the brink of an Armageddon-like confrontation among two gigantic indigenous forces that can ravage the entire Middle East.
The two forces are the Iranian-Arab Shiite revolutionary Islamists headed by Iran and Hezbollah, and the collection of disparate, mostly Arab, Sunni Salafist, takfiri and fundamentalist militants that are either closely linked to Saudi Arabia or ideologically spawned by Al-Qaeda. The attack on the Iranian Embassy in Beirut – assuming it was done by the Al-Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades – marks the important moment when these two forces emerged from the shadows and their many proxy wars in Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Somalia, and now attack each other directly, in broad daylight, and with appropriate media announcements.
The three older phenomena I mentioned that have come together here and now, and that must be seen as the underlying drivers of this horrendous regional confrontation among different Islamist ideologies, are, a) the development of organized Salafist/takfiri groups (militant, often terroristic, hard-line fundamentalist Islamists such as Al-Qaeda) that focus in part on killing Shiites while cleansing Sunni lands of all infidels, starting with Al-Qaeda’s birth and Abdullah Azzam himself in Afghanistan/Pakistan in the 1980s; b) the growing use of suicide bombers as instruments of warfare and resistance to foreign occupation in the Middle East and South Asia, also starting in the early 1980s; and c) the steady expansion and growth of Salafist/takfiri groups in the Iraq-Syria-north Lebanon region since the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq created the conditions that unleashed the new violent Sunni-Shiite confrontations that have marked our generation.
Last week’s embassy attack in Beirut signifies the point where Salafists/takfiris who have proliferated since 2003 now directly and simultaneously attack targets in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon; it should clarify, for those who were not aware, that these vicious criminals are at war with everyone in the Middle East – Arabs, Iranians, Sunnis, Shiites, Israelis, Americans ... you name it, they hate it and will bomb it.
Iran and the United States now share a common enemy and threat that has attacked them both. As such, I suspect we will see Washington and Tehran continue working to resolve the nuclear issue so that they can address the much more direct Salafist/takfiri threat that plagues everyone in the region. These militants are growing by perhaps the tens of thousands in Syria and Iraq, and everyone in the Middle East will soon start to work together to stop them, so the diplomatic consequences of the embassy attack could be dramatic.
The embassy bombing is an escalation of just one grade over other equally meaningful recent escalations, which included unprecedented car bomb and missile attacks against Hezbollah targets in southern Beirut. These escalations against Iran and Hezbollah are no surprise, given those two parties’ military role in Syria in support of the Assad regime and Hezbollah’s openly declared war against the Salafist-takfiris in Syria. But it would be a mistake to see this confrontation mainly in terms of spillover from the war in Syria, because Salafist/takfiris have been menacing and attacking various Arab targets in the Middle East for the past decade or more, well before the Syria war began.
The more accurate analytical approach would be to see Syria as representing a dramatic escalation of the spread of organized Salafist/takfiris from their genesis in Afghanistan-Pakistan and their recent Levantine anchorage from Iraq post-2003. Iran and the U.S., with everyone else in the region, will want to dampen this expansion of Salafist/takfiri groups and operations, but they will soon realize that this cannot be done mainly through military means. The U.S. armed forces and CIA can probably provide nifty graphs and charts that show how these criminal groups have grown, spread and become more vicious in direct proportion to the United States’ expanded use of drone assassinations and torture against suspected terrorists during the past 12 years. Foreign bombs do not quell Salafist-takfiris, but only spawn their faster expansion.
These groups can only develop and operate in ungovernable zones of chaos, which is why they mostly operate from Afghanistan, northwest Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Mali, Libya, Iraq, Syria and parts of north Lebanon. Countering them requires removing the political, nationalistic and socio-economic grievances that cause thousands of outraged and desperate, yet directionless and unanchored, young men to join their ranks. Defeating them for good will be a tough task that can only be achieved by Iranians, Arabs, Turks and foreign governments working together to address the underlying causes that allow such criminal groups to see the light of day in the first place. These underlying causes include Arab official corruption, tyranny and incompetence, Israeli colonialism and other criminal deeds, and Anglo-American-Russian invasions of Muslim-majority lands – all leading to mass Arab humiliation and vulnerability. This really is a tough agenda, which has bred some wild killers who now roam freely among us.(http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Columnist/2013/Nov-25/238758-beirut-bombs-are-more-than-spillover.ashx#axzz2ldCrk7Cr)
Zone C holds the key to 'Plan B' for Palestine
By Ali Jarbawi
In light of the Obama administration's failures in Egypt and Syria, the revival of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations is one potentially positive achievements that the administration is trying to focus on in an attempt to win back some of its lost regional stature.
The United States seems to have reached a tacit understanding with both parties: that the Israelis will not lose anything fundamental during the negotiations, and that the Palestinians will appear to make a few gains but not on any fundamental issues. For now, this seems enough of an incentive to keep both sides negotiating.
Israel's aggressive settlement expansion into occupied territories, especially in East Jerusalem, is continuing - a policy that allows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to retain his far-right coalition government. The Palestinians have seen long-held prisoners released on the condition that the Palestinian Authority refrains from applying for membership in international organizations. They have also received American promises to help muster support for their economy, a move necessary for the survival of the Palestinian Authority.
This economic enticement offensive has two parts. The first is direct, and involves finding means to pump approximately $600 million into the Palestinian Authority's budget this fiscal year to balance its books and decrease debts. The second part is indirect, and involves a project to revive the Palestinian economy, through the launch of what has come to be known as the "Kerry plan." The American secretary of state has described it as "the biggest, boldest and most ambitious plan that has been proposed since Oslo."
From the information that has trickled down so far, its aim appears to be finding $4 billion of external investment in the Palestinian Authority over the next three years through partnerships with the private sector in such crucial areas as agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, information technology, housing, energy and water. Kerry expects that these investments will lead to 50 percent growth over the next three years, and will raise salaries by 40 percent and reduce unemployment from 28 to 8 percent. If it were to succeed, it would radically alter the Palestinian economic landscape.
But how will such a plan succeed? And how can it be more than a stopgap injection of cash into an economy hobbled by the shackles of occupation?
Since 1967, Israeli policies have aimed at isolating the Palestinians in narrow cantons while controlling, exploiting and settling the majority of the land. In 1993, the year that the Oslo Accords were signed, Palestinians were forbidden to cross between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip without Israeli pre-authorization, despite Oslo's stipulation that there be a secure land corridor between the two areas. With time, such preauthorization has become rarer and harder to obtain, resulting in a complete severing of life in the Gaza Strip from life in the West Bank. During the 1990s, the West Bank, with a total area of 5,500 square kilometers, was divided (apart from East Jerusalem) into three zones, named A, B and C, all of which were meant to be handed over to the Palestinian Authority's full control by 1998. The Palestinians received control of Zone A, the population centers in the major cities, Zone B, the smaller towns and villages.
But Zone C, which constitutes more than 61 percent of the area of the West Bank and contains most of the natural resources (most crucially water aquifers) still remains under full Israeli control, prone to exploitation and settlement. This region is the only contiguous part of the West Bank, and hundreds of isolated residential areas that make up Zones A and B are embedded within it.
Any development work inside Zone C needs Israeli authorization, whether it is paving roads and setting up wastewater treatment plants, or building schools, hospitals and housing. Israeli permission to proceed is rare and usually requires pressure from foreign governments or international organizations. Even then obtaining authorization can take up to a decade or more.
The World Bank has long supported development projects in Palestine. In October 2013, it published a report entitled "Area C and the Future of the Palestinian Economy." It showed that Israeli-imposed limits on Palestinian activities in this area cost the Palestinian economy about $3.4 billion a year, or one-third of total economic output.
The report concluded that the Palestinian Authority's economic situation would improve only if economic activity in Zone C grew, since that would increase government revenue, halve the budget deficit and wean the government off international aid. If Israeli sanctions in the area were lifted, the report estimated, 130,000 jobs could be created.
Zone C is the key to developing the Palestinian economy. And if Palestinians were able to use all of their land and natural resources, they would be able to raise their GDP and reduce their reliance on international aid. If Kerry is serious about revitalizing the Palestinian economy, he needs to open up Zone C to Palestinian development, and add this to the list of incentives offered to the Palestinians in the negotiations. All external investment should be directly tied to an effort to secure Palestinian control over the entire Zone C. If this doesn't happen, Kerry's economic plan will be nothing.(http://www.timesofoman.com/Columns/Article-1507.aspx)
Institutionalizing Zionism in American academia
By Sarah Marusek
It is widely known that Israel and its allies spend millions of dollars to promote Zionism on college and university campuses across the US. Zionist organizations fund student groups like Hillel, the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, as well as sponsor American Jewish students to travel or study abroad in Israel through programs like Bithright Israel and MASA Israel Journey.
Israel and its allies also spend vast resources organizing pro-Zionist speaking tours, both on and off college and university campuses. The Jewish National Fund works with an extensive list of Zionist scholars and professionals to, as it proudly states, "Bring the Israel experience to your next meeting, community event or conference." Furthermore, while a doctoral student at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in Central New York, I was told that the Israeli embassy regularly contacted the administration, as well as the directors of selected programs, to pressure them to schedule an event featuring the Israeli Ambassador to the US.
However, perhaps less is known about how Israeli universities are actively involved in institutionalizing Zionism in the American academy, mainly in the form of collaborative research programs that legitimize the right of powerful states to illegally invade and occupy Muslim and Arab lands by equating the resulting struggle for liberation with terrorism.
My own university is complicit in this project to normalize invasion and occupation through collaborative programs with Israeli universities. In Fall 2007, our graduate magazine featured an article entitled "Trying to Change the Rules" that focused on several collaborative projects related to a partnership between the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism (INSCT) at Syracuse University's respected College of Law and the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) located at the Interdisciplinary Centre (IDC) in Herzliya, Israel.
The IDC is one of Israel's most influential security institutes and is thought to have extremely close connections to the Israeli government and military. Indeed the chairman of the ICT Board of Directors, Shabtai Shavit, is the former head of the Mossad.
The collaboration between the IDC and Syracuse University started in 2005 and expanded after Israel's 2006 War against Lebanon. The heads of INSCT and the ITC, along with the former dean of the Maxwell School, who had previously worked for the US Department of Defense, all agreed that the existing rules of war no longer applied to the dominant forms of warfare in the 21st century, which they described as "asymmetric" because most conflicts today are conducted between state and nonstate actors that have vastly different military capabilities. The three decided that "someone should attempt to update" the rules of war and that INSCT, in partnership with the Israelis, was "well-positioned to take that on". This resulted in a five-year collaborative research project called "New Battlefields/Old Laws" that included a two-way student exchange program.
While most wars today are indeed "asymmetric", it is because many of them are also illegal and should never have been allowed to happen in the first place. According to international human rights law, the case can be made that the recent wars waged by the US and Israel are all illegal, not only for being disproportionate responses to real or perceived threats, especially those that were manufactured, but also for intentionally blurring the distinction between combatants and civilians.
Israel's 2006 war against Lebanon was waged after Hezbollah launched an ambush against Israeli soldiers, capturing two of them in the hopes of negotiating a prisoner exchange, and killing three. During the subsequent aggression, Agence France Press reports that 1,287 Lebanese died, nearly all civilians, and 4,054 were wounded. Israeli forces intentionally inflicted severe damage to civilian infrastructure including: the Rafik Hariri International Airport; various ports; a lighthouse in Ras Beirut; bridges, roads and factories throughout the country; ambulances and relief trucks; schools, orphanages and hospitals; mosques and community centers; mobile telephone and television stations; as well as fuel containers and service stations. During the final three days of fighting, and despite the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 calling for an immediate cessation of the hostilities, Israel dropped up to four million cluster bomblets in southern Lebanon, and over one million remained unexploded, prompting charges from the UN's humanitarian chief that Israel employed a "completely immoral" use of cluster bombs during the conflict. According to Lebanon's Foreign Affairs Minister Adnan Mansour, more than 400 Lebanese have been victims of these unexploded cluster munitions since the cease-fire, 115 of them under the age of 18.
On the other side, 116 Israeli soldiers were killed as well as 43 civilians, and Israel suffered severe damage to civilian infrastructure including a post office and two hospitals.
The disproportionality here is nothing less than shocking, and all the more so since it was intentional. During the war, the Israeli military employed what it called "the Dahiyah Doctrine", named after the residential areas in southern Beirut that Israeli forces indiscriminately destroyed on the basis that "they were also used as Hezbollah command-and-control centers, and were built over Hezbollah bunkers." In October 2008, Israeli Major General Gadi Eizenkot threatened that: "What happened in the Dahiyah quarter of Beirut in 2006 will happen in every village from which Israel is fired on. We will apply disproportionate force on it and cause great damage and destruction there. From our standpoint, these are not civilian villages, they are military bases."
One Israeli journalist writing for Yedioth Ahronoth summed up this strategy as follows: "In practical terms, the Palestinians in Gaza are all Khaled Mashaal [the exiled leader of Hamas]; the Lebanese are all Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah [the secretary general of Hezbollah]; and the Iranians are all Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [the former president of the Islamic Republic of Iran]."
This strategy, which resulted in mass death and destruction, clearly violates the principles of war in regards to proportionality and distinction, and thus is illegal.
Nevertheless, Israeli occupation forces used the same strategy during Israel's 2008-2009 assault against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of 1,389 Palestinians, more than half of whom were civilians and 318 of whom were minors under the age of 18. In addition, more than 5,300 Palestinians were wounded. According to the Israeli rights group B'tselem, "Israel also caused enormous damage to residential dwellings, industrial buildings, agriculture and infrastructure for electricity, sanitation, water, and health, which was already on the verge of collapse prior to the operation" due to the Israeli siege. The aggression targeted 18 schools, including eight kindergartens, with at least 262 others damaged. Israel also destroyed more than 3,500 residential dwellings, leaving more than 20,000 Palestinians homeless.
Inside Israel, Hamas rockets killed three Israeli civilians during the offensive and one member of the security forces. According to the UN, 518 Israelis were injured. Newspapers reported that 28 Israelis were made homeless, and over 1,000 claims were filed relating to damaged property.
Again, the disproportionate results of the aggression clearly indicate that Israel violated the principles of war in regards to proportionality and distinction. And when wars are illegal, they constitute crimes.
Nevertheless, Syracuse University still decided that Israel, an occupying power, was legally and ethically qualified to help devise new rules of war. Of course, this should not be surprising in the context of US Empire. When accepting his Nobel Peace Prize, President Barack Obama described the 2002 invasion of Afghanistan as a just war, even though none of the hijackers on 11 September 2001 were of Afghan origin. Thus despite not being responsible for perpetrating the 11/9 attacks, around 15,000 Afghanis have died as a result. That is some twisted conception of justice.
All of this is actually connected. According to the IDC web site, Syracuse University has developed "a joint study and research program in counterterrorism policy, homeland security and American domestic and foreign policy," drawing parallels between the experiences of confronting Palestinian resistance to occupation and Al-Qaeda acts of terrorism.
It is not incidental that professors from Syracuse University also regularly participate in the annual counterterrorism conference at Herzliya. According to the New York writer Ira Glunts, "One of the conference days always falls on 11 September. This, of course, is timed perfectly to make the case that Israel's battle against terrorism became America's battle as a result of the World Trade Centre attack."
However it is important to note that Syracuse University is not alone in partnering with Israeli universities to normalize the occupation. Earlier this month, the Electronic Intifada reported that Palestine solidarity activists in the US "are campaigning against plans by Texas A&M University to take over a college in Nazareth, the city in present-day Israel with the highest number of Palestinian citizens." According to journalist Patrick Strickland, "Texas A&M, the sixth largest university in the US, intends to raise $70 million to assume control of the Nazareth Academic Institute."
In October, Texas Governor Rick Perry, who campaigned for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 and is likely to campaign again, announced the new program alongside the chancellor of Texas A&M while the two were meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem. As Strickland points out, "John Hagee, a right-wing Christian Zionist pastor leading the lobby group Christians United for Israel, is also involved in the project."
Haaretz notes that while the college in Nazareth was established in 2010 specifically to serve the Arab population, it has suffered from a lack of state funds, thus college officials "welcomed the prestigious American university's entry into the picture." After all, although Arabs comprise 20 per cent of the Israeli population, they are only 11 per cent of its student body. However the Jerusalem Post indicates that, "The new institution, to be called the Peace Campus, will promote coexistence for the sake of education with a student population combining Arab, Jewish and foreign students."
Indeed, as the Daily Beast reports, Manuel Trajtenberg, the chair of Israel's Planning and Budgeting Committee for the Council for Higher Education, explained that he anticipates significant student interest: "Of course, we would appeal to potential students in the area, but also Jewish Israelis of all sorts." If the goal here is not yet clear, Emily L. Hauser also draws attention to the involvement of Hagee, who once described Adolf Hitler as a hunter sent by God to "chase the Jewish people back to the land". Additionally, Hagee has raised tens of millions of dollars "for projects in Israel and for Jewish settlements in the West Bank." Peace Campus suddenly looks a lot like Oslo.
As Omar Barghouti, a founding member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, remarked, this is "another colonial project by Israel-to further colonize our space, whatever space is left of the Palestinian space within the state of Israel."
Of course it is not always necessary to send American students, professors and investment to Israel in order to benefit Zionism. In September, the Electronic Intifada reported that the New York City Council has "approved a lease for Cornell University to build a major applied science engineering campus in partnership with the Haifa-based Israel Institute of Technology (better known as Technion). The 2.1 million square foot, taxpayer-funded project is to be located on the southern tip of Roosevelt Island, a strip of largely residential land between Manhattan and Queens."
As scholar Terri Ginsberg points out: "A closer look at the corporations affiliated with Technion, some of which have expressed interest in this entrepreneurial venture, indicates that the project's aims may be more sinister. These corporations have developed weapons and surveillance technology used by Israel to deny Palestinians their fundamental human rights." She adds that Technion "has a history of cooperating with Israel's arms industry and of helping to develop a bulldozer designed specifically for use in demolishing Palestinian homes."
It is important to note that UK universities are not immune to this trend either. For example, the Electronic Intifada reported in September that the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization (ICSR) at King's College London "was established as a partnership between the IDC in Herzliya" and other Israeli universities. Unsurprisingly, the majority of ICSR's projects focus on the various expressions of "Islamic radicalism" without any mention of Zionist extremism. Even its project on North America and Europe only focuses on radicalism in Muslim communities.
All of these examples illustrate how the Zionist occupation uses the Western academy in a variety of ways to reproduce itself not only in Palestine, but also beyond.(http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/activism/8481-institutionalising-zionism-in-american-academia)
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Opinions
Judaizing Jerusalem
Al-Dustuor Editorial
The enemy no longer hides its goals and plans for Judaizing Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa; it establishes new biblical synagogues inside the tunnels under the mosque for performing prayers, some of these synagogues are made for women prayer.
In this context it should be noted that this aggression against Al Aqsa comes as the main part of the enemy's plans for temporal and spatial division of the mosque, which is apparently about to happen, after the Knesset ratified a law allowing settlers to visit Al-Aqsa whenever they wish...!!
In more details, building biblical synagogues under Al-Aqsa by the enemy came after it built 14 synagogues around the mosque, and after expanding Al-Boraq yard and establishing a bridge at Al-Magharebah gate (Moroccans’’ gate), allowing hundreds of Jews to enter at once into the mosque. This confirms that the enemy continues with its plans to Judaize Al-Aqsa and to establish the so-called Temple on its ruins.
The danger of what is happening is in the silence of the Palestinian Authority, all Arab states and Washington - the sole sponsor of the peace process, which settles for condemnations and indignations, which encouraged the occupation gangs to pursue their expansionist plans and projects.Moreover, the serious developments hitting the region, the Arab-Arab conflicts and the Palestinian division which reached the stage of difficulty… are reasons encouragingthe enemy to implementits policy of fait accompli, leading to confiscating more than 65% of the West Bank territory and 85% of the territory of occupied Jerusalem.
Our people in Jerusalem’s cry for help is no longer heard by Arab and Muslim officials, while most of them (if not all) rejected not contribute to the Jerusalem fund to support the steadfastness of Jerusalemites, renovation of schools and payinghospitals’ debts, Jerusalemite tears no longer raises pride and gallantry when confronted by a mob of settlers on the gates of Al-Aqsa, and prevented form desecrating its sanctity, all of this no longer stir the consciences of Arabs and Muslims, which surrendered to degradation and humiliation.
We can only bet on our people in Jerusalem and its surrounding, to stand up and defend the first Kiblah and the third holiest site in Islam after Judaization reached Al-Aqsa, its courtyards and tunnels.
In short: we say that our cry to rescue Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem, and rein the Zionist aggression will not reach the ears of Arabs and Muslims… Its destiny will be as the destiny of the freemen of Jerusalem’s cry with no echo!
However, we are certain that the people of Jerusalem and in all Palestinian towns, villages and camps will not leave Al-Aqsa alone, and would not allow Jews… Murderers of prophets to Judaize it... we bet on their steadfastness and sacrifices and absolute faith in confronting the occupiers and their ability to free their holy places. (http://www.addustour.com/17045/%D8%AA%D9%80%D9%80%D9%87%D9%80%D9%80%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%80%D9%80%D8%AF+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%82%D9%80%D9%80%D8%B5%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%89.html)
A triumph of peace logic; and a resounding slap to Israel
Al-Quds Editorial
The nuclear agreement signed yesterday between Iran and six world powers in Genevaafter intensive negotiations over four days, is a very important and historic step bringing the Middle East closer to security and stability after curbing all those who beat the drums of war, led by Israel and its Prime Minister, who received a resounding slapwith this agreement, which carries with it many lessons and meanings.
First of all, this agreement confirmed the victory of peace logic against all warmongers and war promoters, showing that any problem, no matter how complex it is, can be solved by peaceful means if will and sincere intentions are there and stereotypes are being excluded.
This important agreement clearly confirmed that the United States is able to say no to Israel and rein its military adventures, and make it commit to the will of the international community, and that the hysterical reactions from the Israeli Government presented by Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday including a return to the language of threats and warnings confirm the extent of Israel's isolation in the international arena, and the ability of the international community to impose its will and not care what Israel will say.
This agreement has an important message to Israel, that the international community which has proven its ability to solve the Iranian nuclear is unable to find a just solution to the Palestinian issue, based on international law and the will of the international community, away from the flimsy Israeli pretexts on security and stability,which are the same pretexts that Israel used trying to prevent any nuclear agreement between the West and Iran from being achieved.
If the objective of the agreement is to defuse the crisis and serve the interests of the States and peoples of the region, this stresses that a peaceful solution is the best option to address regional and international problems.
While we welcome this important agreement, it is necessary to reaffirm that peace, security and stability in the Middle East lies in solving the Palestinian issue, in a fair and lasting solution based on the resolutions of international legitimacy and international law, and guarantee the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, in addition to a comprehensive and simultaneous disarmament of nuclear and non-conventional weapons in the region including Israel which foreign sources confirmed it obtains nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
Perhaps this nuclear agreement and the chemical agreement on Syria which defused foreign military intervention in Syria are important international achievements, and critical steps that must be followed by steps to establish peace, security and stability in the Middle East.
Finally, the question that arises now when the Iranian nuclear crisis is behind us, although some will try to foil the implementation of the agreement or fabricate something that will explode situation is: what is the next step for international community to strengthen its efforts in establishing peace and stability in the region? Isn't it time the international community say to Israelenough is enough? Is it not the time for the international community to bear responsibility and end the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian and Arab territories, and enable the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination and establish their independent State on their whole national territory, with Jerusalem as its capital and solve the refugee issue according to resolutions of international legitimacy?(http://www.alquds.com/news/article/view/id/474784)
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